Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 4609: Identifying Project Management Practices and Principles for Public-Private Partnerships in Housing Projects: The Case of Tanzania (Sustainability)

Despite the advocated benefits of Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) such as alleviating the housing problems within the developing countries, the PPP implementation process is fraught with several challenges; including project management (PM) related ones. Tanzania, like many developing countries, has higher PPP projects termination rates in comparison to the global average. This suggests a lack of effective PM practices and principles integration. To bridge that knowledge gap, this study applies the theoretical lenses of innovation diffusion theory (IDT) to identify the extent of integration of PM practices and principles during the implementation of PPPs in Tanzanian housing projects. A qualitative approach comprising 10 semi-structured interviews was conducted among PPP practitioners. Directed content analysis was employed for the analysis. Based on frequency of citations, 14 PPPs sustainable PM practices and principles for PPPs implementation are identified. The three most relevant practices and principles were: official and unofficial site visits, documenting the inspections, and site meetings. Assessing the actual work done against the schedule of works was identified as the prevalent project performance of PPP. The results are expected to further nurture an improved appreciation of the best integration PM practices and principles associated with successfully implementing PPPs in housing projects.